DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2663-4619/119/39-42
Aytan Ibrahimova
Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3529-0883
ayten_edahib@yahoo.com
The Natural Approach Method in Foreign Language Teaching
Abstract
The natural approach has attracted the attention of both language researchers and practitioners because it is based on a solid theory of language learning. This approach is an evolutionary approach to language learning and teaching based on the theory of how people learn languages. The theory behind this approach is that language acquisition occurs only when people hear, read and understand messages. This theory distinguishes between learning and acquisition, suggests that all individuals can be recipients (acquirers), introduces the concept of the “monitor” and suggests that affective factors as well as cognitive factors influence language learning.
Materials used in natural approach lessons should be meaningful, relevant to real life and encourage genuine interaction between language learners. Pictures, visual aids, diagrams, maps, advertisements and magazines can be useful in developing understanding and communication. Picture stories, arts and crafts, cartoons and puppets can be used, especially with young children. In the natural approach, teachers are encouraged to develop or adapt original materials from the real world rather than sticking to a textbook. Thus, the development, selection and adaptation of materials to be used in the classroom can place a burden on the teacher who adopts the natural approach.
Keywords: foreign language, teaching, method, principle, theory